'Bears' an irresistible tale of animal survival

5:18 AM,
Apr. 23, 2014

Scout and Amber nurse on Sky in this scene. The mother bear needs food to continue producing milk for her cubs. She also defends the cubs from wolves and other predators -- including hungry male brown bears.
Oliver Scholey, Disneynature

Written by

Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

If audiences can get past the notion of a raven leading a brown bear to a treasure-trove of salmon, Disneynature's Bears is an enjoyable and visually stunning romp through the scenic Alaskan wilderness with a small family of bears.

Sure, the tale is gently Disney-fied for family audiences, but the way it tracks three bears through ruggedly remote wilderness is nonetheless captivating.

Bears (*** out of four, rated G, opens Friday nationwide) follows a mother bear and her two cubs over the course of a year as they struggle to find food and escape predators (sometimes in the form of larger male ...